Improvement in packings for oil-wells



PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. GATE, OF DEERFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PACKINGS FOR OIL-WELLS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,980, dated August 15, 1871.

To all whom yit may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY S. GATE, of Deerfield, in the county of Varren and Stat-e ot' Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useii'ul Improvement in Vaeruun-Preserver5 and l do hereby declare that the following' is a full, clear, and eXact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being' had to the accompanying' drawing' forming' part of this speciiication.

My invention consists in thel improvement of oil-tubes and their connections to preserve the vacuum in oil-wells, as hereinafter fully described and subsequently pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying` drawing', Figure 1 represents the packing' as applied, showing' a side view of the tube and the casing around it, the metallic plates for supporting' the packing, and the clamps for fastening it to the casing. Fig. 2 is a sectional edge view.

Similar letters ofreterenee indicate correspondin g' parts.

In pumping' oil it is customary to apply a pump to wells separately from the oil-pump for the purpose of drawing' oftl the gases and relieving the oil in the crevices ofthe rock beneath the pumptube of atmospheric pressure, or for causing' a vacuum. It is not unfrequently necessai'y to withdraw the tube for repairs or other purposes, and when this is done the air rushes down and fills the vacuum, drivin g' ba-ck the oil and causing' much trouble and expense in getting' it back, when the tube is replaced and the pump is again putin operation. In fact, oil-wells are sometimes ruined by withdrawing the tube and subjecting' the oil in and below the well to atmospheric pressure. My invention consists in preserving the vaculnn by preventing' the ing'ress of air.

A is the oil-tube. B 1s the casing around the tube. G is an oriiiee, to which the pipe-connection of the gas-pump is attached. D is a disk of rubber or other elastic material confined between the two metallic annular rings E and F on the collar G of the casing by means of the clamps ll II or in any other suitable manner. Through the center of the rubber packing' I) there is an orifice smaller in diameter than the tube, but through which the tube passes air-tight by reason ot' the elasticity of the packing'.

It will be seen that the bearing of the metallic rings is on the outer edge ofthe packing', so that the latter can contract or expand nearly its entire width from the center. Thin packing` is placed on the collar G so as to insure a tight joint between the latter and the bottom ring. In drawing up the tube through the elastic packing the latter will be drawn up around the tube in the form oif' a truncated cone, which will withstand the pressure of the atmosphere and preserve the vacuum beneath. The packing' will expand for the collars and thimble of the tube to pass and contract again to the tube, thus keeping the connection all the time air-tight.

I do not coniine myself to this particular mode oii applying' packing' to the tube for the purpose inlined, but desire to cover all and every mode by which elastic packing' can be applied for this purpose.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Iatent- In combination with oil-tube A and casing B having' collar (l, the rubber disk I), metallic rings E F, and clamps lI II, all arranged as and for the purpose speciticd.

HENRY S. GATE.

Titnessesz C. J'. SiinUnLsoN C. W. Minnen. 7 

